Labubu Doesn’t Need a Movie, But Capitalism Definitely Does

Imagine your favourite personality toy is about to appear on the big screen.

That’s Labubu. POP MART and Sony Pictures will team up to create a live-action and CGI hybrid film, directed by the famous director Paul King. Exciting? Maybe. But totally unnecessary. According to The Straits Times, the film is a strategic move to make Labubu a global entertainment IP, aiming to broaden brand coverage and increase global sales.

Labubu movie: Kasing Lung (left) produces, Paul King (right) directs

Labubu works because it doesn’t tell you what to feel

Since its birth, Labubu has never been designed for the complete storyline. Its charm lies in its vagueness, eccentric and slightly strange, rich in emotions but without a fixed plot, which is also the core reason why fans love it.

Jing Daily commentators pointed out that the attraction of Labubu comes from the fact that collectors and fans project their emotions and experiences on it, making it an exclusive emotional carrier, not a standardised product. In the online community, it is never a character with an established plot, but an emotional symbol. It is more about the vibe than a story. 

The launch of the film will give Labubu a rigid plot and directly erase its unique open charm.

Fans creatively personalize Labubu

This isn’t storytelling, it’s scaling

Frankly, the preparation of the film is not because Labubu has a story worth film, but because of its excellent sales performance. The Business Times reported that the Labubu boom has made POP MART the core force of the market, and international sales and brand attention have risen rapidly.

US Fans queue to buy Labubu, driving global sales

This kind of business model is not uncommon. After the cultural and creative image became popular, the capital metropolis adapted it into a movie or a big IP, which does not need to expand the plot, but is driven by the profit potential.

Some fans on Reddit used The Lego Movie as a successful case of adapting the movie as a toy, and at the same time pointed out that the key to the success of such movies is to enrich the depth of the plot, not simply selling products. The Lego Movie was successful because it grasped Lego’s fun ideas, not simply to promote blocks.

By contrast, Labubu movies will obviously follow the old business path, pursue global market expansion and profit maximisation, instead of giving creative freedom. So why make the movie? The core of the film is not to tell a good story, but to promote the brand. Labubu itself does not need movies, but capitalism always needs an excuse for profit, which is also the true face of contemporary consumption culture.